Color & the Light [Import]

Jennifer O'Connor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 3, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Red Panda
• ASIN: B0007Y8AD8
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,202 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do yourself a favor and buy this CD, June 22, 2005

By 

Susan T (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color & the Light (Audio CD)

I've seen Jennifer play a few times acoustically, and own her last self-titled release, which is also acoustic. So I was totally unprepared for the full band sound on "The Color and the Light". While she's been drawing comparisons to early Liz Phair in the press, I hear much more (and it probably helps that I don't own any Liz Phair releases to limit those comparisons).

The music on "The Color and the Light," whether it is the guitar twang of "Beg or Borrow Days" the hushed, acoustic guitar of "Saved" or the layered, electric guitar on "Yer Copout" (which reminds me of Mazzy Star), serves as an excellent accompaniment to her lyrics. There is a variety of musical styles here, from the heavier fuzz-rock guitar on "Million Dollar Smile" to the softly acoustic "The Thought of You," but the lyrical thread that runs through the CD draws everything together. Many of those lyrics deal with motivation and stagnation; the desire to want so much more and how we often serve as our own best enemy.

Probably "Yer Copout" and "Why Don't You Do" (in which I hear early Suzanne Vega) are my favorite songs on the CD, although I really don't hear any lesser tracks on this release.

This is one of those indie gems that I hope more people hear. Jennifer has a real talent to my ears, and more people deserve to be exposed to her music. I have probably played this CD almost every day since I got it; and keep hearing more on it. I am really looking forward to her touring this summer.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cmj review, June 2, 2005

By 

Kendall J. Meade "head panda" (central park zoo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color & the Light (Audio CD)

Now that Liz is lost in the Matrix, Brooklyn's Jennifer O'Connor (originally from Connecticut) picks up the ball and buck-n-runs with it. Right from the get-go, The Color And The Light explodes with some of the most compelling mid-fi indie since Exile; O'Connor shares Phair's deep register, droll delivery and the endearingly limited vocal range that enhances expressiveness rather than hinders it. While these parallels serve as a savvy calling card, O'Connor quickly outpaces them. She's a more proficient guitarist and (should we go there?) whip-smart songwriter, as evidenced on sparse tracks like the haunting "Saved." She's flexible enough to spike the mix with an occasional twanger, and descriptive enough to breathe lyrical life into boy/girl battles without resorting to sexual bluntness. On the album's second half, O'Connor relies on sheets of melodic feedback for a gauzy dream-pop effect, vowing on the sparkling "Beg Or Borrow Days," "I'm gonna drink black coffee all night long/Until I write the perfect song." Based on the trajectory of The Color And The Light, she may not even need as much as a venti.
- Glen Sarvady

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, low-fi, addicting., June 4, 2006

By 

Hallie Engel (Doha, Qatar) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color & the Light (Audio CD)

Jennifer's going to be big. She has an album due out on Matador in the near future, so if you want to brag that you caught onto her first, get this record. Filled with smart, heartfelt lyrics illuminated by O'Connor's slightly husky voice, the mood varies from the upbeat on songs like 'Hole In the Road' to the beautiful, haunting strains of 'The Color and the Light'. Overall, a near-perfect collection of low-fi indie rock; just gorgeous.